The Cauvery water dispute is primarily between which pair of states?

Concept

Interstate river-water disputes arise when upstream and downstream states claim shares of water from the same river basin.

Such a dispute is identified by tracing the river's course and its principal riparian states, not merely by listing neighbouring states.

Application

The Cauvery rises at Talakaveri in Karnataka and flows through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu before reaching the Bay of Bengal.

The principal dispute over sharing its waters is therefore associated with Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, although Kerala and the Union Territory of Puducherry are also parties to the Cauvery adjudication.

Contrast

• Maharashtra–Karnataka is mainly a Krishna-basin pairing, not the principal Cauvery pairing.

• Maharashtra–Andhra Pradesh is linked chiefly through the Godavari basin, not the Cauvery basin.

• Andhra Pradesh–Karnataka is associated mainly with the Krishna basin, not the principal Cauvery pairing.

Result

Therefore, the pair asked for is Tamil Nadu–Karnataka.